-timestop spell for wizards and spellcasters-new neverseen locations-dark fantasy tone-rogue stones could lead you to the lairs of the liches, demiliches etc.-dynamic environment design for some secrets (hidden walls, destructible walls, spell-locked doors)-interesting companion dynamic (Yoshimo can betray you in due time)-exploring various neverseen planes and realms through the portals-drow city and spider queen boss encounter-intrigues, conspiracies, mysteries and rituals -witches factions-mimic monsters (various designs with traps)-wicked and twisted characters, monsters and bosses-floating city https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/73/de/4e73deb478031e1d6aaa651380d75398.jpg...

The aspect I am unsure of is whether they will nail the feel, aesthetic and auditory qualities of Baldur's gate.They really, truly need to nail the art.

*Portrait art was so crucial in grounding the games characters. They need to employ an artist that will depict characters rich with suggestion and curiosities.

*The interface should avoid modern overtones such as floating text boxes. The original games could use simulated elementssuch as stone, leather, bronze, wood..... grounded elements that gave the interface a sense of presence. That isn't to sayit should'nt be trimmed down, but that the interface should feel tangible. I guess given the flesh tearing Mind Flayer on display, organic elements might also work.

*Its buttons should have weight. Never underestimate the satisfaction of a click of mouse or press of a button. Diablo didn't. Just you open up Baldur's Gate 1 and click the menu buttons. The feeling of pressing a stone button has such character.Please ignore any aesthetic "Improvements" Beamdog/Overhaul did for the re-release. Those were like George Lucas painting cheesy CG over Star Wars. Kind of embarrassing.

*If the series did one thing well it was distilling entire characters into memorable catch phrases. Even if your characters are fully voiced, lean into their battle cries to help set your characters personalities apart.

*Be visually consistent. All the portraits should look in the same style, all the armor should look like it belongs in the same world. Don't overdo it. This is not an anime.Make a decision on how grounded the game will be and stick to it. The original game was very grounded in a traditional medieval landscape. The sequel had a little more exotic influence, but it was all LORE centered. Consistent.

*Consistent narrative. If I were to imagine what this could look like, I would say a very grounded world that punctuates exotic elements. The characters of the world are likely used to a very traditional medieval fantasy life, but the adventure can be in discovering with new eyes the magic and exotic elements of the world that should not just be taken for granted strewn about the world. A world like Planescape is more suited to taking for granted exotic oddities like ^^ Floating cities. Unless our characters are world travellers and lifelong adventurers, they should still have a sense of wonder about the world. If these things are introduced, maybe a wise character like I just described would be ideal as a mentor type figure to initiate into a fantastical situation.

New Mindflayers are infants despite being fully grown, and so cannot function on their own, requiring 20 years of instruction and experience... Also, the host isnt still in control. its a husk controlled by the tadpole so the "fear" on the Flaming Fist Guard is not viable pre transformation.

Im not saying this to start issues. I WANT this game to be right... but if it's in the Forgotten Realms, the lore is key!

Plough Jester is sadly correct. The D&D/faerun lore is important, not just because "thats how it used to be" but because a great amount of effort went into it all and there are reasons that tie together that make the world a real place rather than just a back drop.

as said by Mike Mearls in one of the interviews (i believe it was him; or it was Swen and Mike agreed or something like that) what we see is "Accelerated Ceremorphosis", so the "general ceremorphosis rules" do not apply

Last edited by 4verse; 12/06/1910:02 AM.

"I don't make games to make money, I make money to make games". ( (c) Swen Vincke via (maybe Not-)Devin @ Kickstarter)

I really hope that Larian succeed with this project. It would be sad for this to go the way of N-Space and Sword Coast Legends. Us D&D fans can be harsh and unforgiving. I am hoping that Larian and Wizards can work well together to deliver on this. Transparency and managing fan expectation is key. Negativity aside I am actually really hyped for this.

For me, I want it to have some of the same features that gave NWN1 and NWN2 the longevity they had and still have. Players are still making content for both, despite support ending years ago. What made those two games last as long as they did was the toolset and ability to direct connect to servers via IP address. Meaning that even after the Gamespy matchmaking servers went down people could still do multiplayer. So for me the three main things are as follows:

Yeah I'm a Forgotten Realms lore junkie, so the game keeping its lore straight is very important to me.

Re. the look and feel of the game, I don't think we are going to get a game that looks and feels like the original games. Sorry. The reason I say this is the following. This game is indisputably a AAA game. None of the Infinity Engine games, the NwN games, the recent crop of so-called "cRPG renaissance" games, or even the D:OS games are AAA. And if you are going to make a AAA game, you are playing at a completely different level. As a simple illustration, we all know that D:OS2 sold exceedingly well. If BG3 sells double, even triple what D:OS2 sold, it would be a huge failure and financial disaster for Larian. BG3 needs to sell a minimum of 10 million, and likely closer to 20 million copies for it to be considered a success as a AAA title. That means it needs to satisfy a gaming audience well beyond people like us, people who are hardcore RPG niche gamers, and reach the casual mainstream gamer audience. So no clunky UIs, no isometric perspective, lots of "help" for the player, a modern look and feel, high-end graphics, etc.

- Don't overthink it. D&D mechanics in 5e have been simplified and they work well at the table or in a video game. Instead of trying to rebalance the whole thing by removing attack rolls/chance to miss why not try to implement functionality that has previously never been done in video games such as grappling mechanics or flying mechanics (been done, but not in a D&D / Party based game).

- Contrary to some others, I feel it would be better if this was a slower paced, low level adventure that then goes on to do higher level stuff in a 2nd game. What better to continue the Baldur's Gate franchise than making the deep, rich story of a PC and his party members that takes us through over 100 hours of game time over ~2 games, each with an expansion or 2? In other words, I'd be perfectly fine with BG3 only taking the PC to level ~7 or 8 and having an expansion to 10, BG4 (hopefully) then would be able to have a higher level adventure that takes the PC to ~18 with a 'final chapter' ala Throne of Bhaal to take the PC to 20.

- Along this vein, please avoid giving out overpowered/end game equipment and then taking it away to start the next game. D&D 5e has brought magical equipment back in to the realm of being rare and, while powerful nowhere near the ridiculousness of 3.x / 4e magic items. It's ok for the party to end the first game with mostly +1 / low level items and maybe just a couple of +2 / mid-level items... In fact 5e has several magical items that don't give enhancement at all, but other useful benefits.

- Please don't give us a D&D story with non-D&D mechanics. It has been SOOOOO LOOOONG since a good D&D came out. It would be nice to actually have it be a true D&D game. Use the 5e mechanics (with feats and racial bonuses/negatives, etc.) as fully as possible and stick as close to the rules system as possible. If you make changes to one part it will impact other parts and make the game end up looking nothing like D&D.

D&D 5e has in my opinion brought the system back closer to what it was in AD&D (1e / 2e) and I am very glad BG3 is being made when the ruleset has seemingly come 'full circle'. I was ok with 3.x, but always felt the emphasis was far too centered around 'builds' while 4e was something I would barely classify as relating to any previous iteration of D&D. 5e is the first time since 2e where I feel they got it right and improved upon the mixture of supporting roleplay and mechanics. I just really hope for a game that embraces this.

While I would prefer grid/turn-based combat similar (but hopefully less buggy than!) Temple of Elemental Evil, I still think it works fine with RTwP as in the Infinity Engine games. Whatever is decided, the combat should feel like D&D, otherwise having a story set in Forgotten Realms would feel like a marketing ploy where they took a unique system that could be in any custom setting and plopped it in to FR in order to capture the D&D market without actually giving the fans of that system a D&D game.

Well, I'm resigned to the expectation that this game will have a similar crappy combat system as the D:OS games, even though Larian will strenuously deny that it is a copy of the D:OS system, but hopefully at least in a few other areas the game will be good. For example:

1) Keep party size at 6. I love these kinds of games precisely for my party of companions and all the interactions with them as well as being able to develop them through the game. So a reduced party size, by definition, is a direct reduction in my enjoyment. A corollary to this point: please give me a UI screen where I can simultaneously access the equipment of all of my companions, not just the ones currently in my party. I don't horde my best equipment just for the current active party members. I like to distribute my equipment as appropriate across all of my companions, and it is a serious pain to have to swap party members in and out of my party to distribute equipment.

2) Stay true to D&D and Forgotten Realms lore. The lore is WAY more important to me than the rules. I am a Forgotten Realms lore junkie. I own and have read almost all of the FR novels and FR 3.5e sourcebooks. A corollary to this point: spread the game around to other parts of the Realms beyond Baldur's Gate/Sword Coast. The setting has so many very interesting places in it. Let's go visit them already!

3) Environmental reactivity is well and good, just please not like in the D:OS games where in every battle water puddles and oil barrels and collapseable walls and such are always conveniently available and placed exactly how you want them.

On combat, assuming that it is going to be TB, and as such that I and a large number of other RTwP fans will hate it, I hope Larian will include mechanisms for getting around combat. For example:

1) Make it possible to achieve your goals without engaging in combat as much as possible, and give players equivalent rewards for non-combat ways of achieving goals.

2) Have separate difficulty settings for the game overall versus for combat. That way, I can play the game on, say, 'normal' difficulty overall, but have the difficulty set to 'easy' for combat so that I can breeze through it and not have to suffer slogging through it.

3) Have an AI auto-resolve option for some combat situations.

This way, I get to at least enjoy the game for its non-combat parts without suffering too much with the combat parts.

4verse Some made up, new "Accelerated Ceremorphosis" IS acceptable, but only IF they explain that in game through some discovery/story point etc. they cannot just drop a lorebreaking story point in without an explanation IN the game if it has never (and it hasn't) existed in Realms Lore.

Yeah I'm a Forgotten Realms lore junkie, so the game keeping its lore straight is very important to me.

Re. the look and feel of the game, I don't think we are going to get a game that looks and feels like the original games. Sorry. The reason I say this is the following. This game is indisputably a AAA game. None of the Infinity Engine games, the NwN games, the recent crop of so-called "cRPG renaissance" games, or even the D:OS games are AAA. And if you are going to make a AAA game, you are playing at a completely different level. As a simple illustration, we all know that D:OS2 sold exceedingly well. If BG3 sells double, even triple what D:OS2 sold, it would be a huge failure and financial disaster for Larian. BG3 needs to sell a minimum of 10 million, and likely closer to 20 million copies for it to be considered a success as a AAA title. That means it needs to satisfy a gaming audience well beyond people like us, people who are hardcore RPG niche gamers, and reach the casual mainstream gamer audience. So no clunky UIs, no isometric perspective, lots of "help" for the player, a modern look and feel, high-end graphics, etc.

So more Dragon Age than DOS2? Interesting. If that is the case, Larian really does have a lot of work to do to prove themselves at that level of cinematic production.Not impossible though, i mean look at the jump from Witcher 1 to 2 to 3. You are right, UI will need to change for such a game. It will be more of "you are the character" rather than "you are the god of the gameworld". In which case it does require something more understated. I do keep to my original statements though in regard to any potential inventory system.

I know I will likely be ignored, but I really would like to see sparing use for quest arrows or markers in the main HUD. An alternative would be to flesh out the journal system for modern gamers. That may be too much to ask for AAA though I still would prefer painted character portraits to CG models.

What I would like to see is some well defined pre-created characters akin to DOS2, that can have a pre-built cinematically optimal transition into the gameworld that can be tweaked. I like toying with character creator's, but I realized when playing DOS2 that it would take a lot of extra time to create a character as interesting and deep as some of their pre-made ones. Its nice to be able to jump into a well made character right away.

I know I will likely be ignored, but I really would like to see sparing use for quest arrows or markers in the main HUD. An alternative would be to flesh out the journal system for modern gamers.

So much this! Games that give you directions as you might get from a real life person are great and at it's heart Infinity Engine games are 'lawn mower' games. Now, in today's gaming world I don't think anyone expects to 'run the lawnmower' unless they are playing the newer IE games maybe. However, there should be a good deal of exploration and the way to make that an organic experience is to give directions (sometimes detailed, sometimes vague). If you point the PLAYER directly to the next quest objective then they are by definition robbed of any reason to explore. What is the point of filling a game world with a giant world to interact with and interesting NPC's to talk to if you're just going to hand hold them from one objective to the next?

Also, a couple of nice items hidden randomly throughout the world is always a nice touch (a-la diamond in a tree, ring of wizardry, ankheg plate, etc.)

Swen Vincke's recent comment about doing away with spell slots/spell memorization and probably going with cooldowns has me really worried and very unhappy. Sounds like yet another way this game will be more a D:OS game than a BG game.

Cooldowns.... how modern. I guess it encourages more experimentation if your not worried about expending single use spells before resting, but.... that means we will definitely be getting a persistent skill bar at the bottom of screen somewhere. My hope is that they are stylized icons rather than full colour art of flames and screaming faces etc. The original games made very effective representations of spells and skills with their little icons. It will look much more stylish that way I think.

Also, for whatever reason I don't want to see a horse in this game. I think other games have done that well enough, but I prefer the kind of fellowship of hiking with companions and taking the time to take in the environment.

Cooldowns.... how modern. I guess it encourages more experimentation if your not worried about expending single use spells before resting, but.... that means we will definitely be getting a persistent skill bar at the bottom of screen somewhere. My hope is that they are stylized icons rather than full colour art of flames and screaming faces etc. The original games made very effective representations of spells and skills with their little icons. It will look much more stylish that way I think.

But if you don't have spell slots, spell memorization, and resting (all of which are core elements of D&D), and instead cooldowns (D:OS), how is this a D&D game? That's the question I have. Are they making a D&D game or are they making a D:OS game?

When I first heard that this game even existed I was really surprised and then relieved that it would be done by Larian instead of Bioware... given their state now I couldn't trust them with a sequel such as this. However I've played Divinity Original Sin and will play the sequel when I get around to it, and Original Sin is one of my favourite fantasy RPGs I've ever played, so I'm confident Larian will do well here.I do have some general suggestions - Baldur's Gate and Divinity have contrasting tones in a sense. I don't want to see a Baldur's gate that gets too wacky and silly for its own good; hopefully the developers know exactly the balanced kind of dark but sometimes silly setting in D&D.I do hope with the companions that they focus on quality over quantity and make all of them as interesting as possible with their side quest arcs similar to BG2. I feel like there is an opportunity here for dragons too... I preface this by saying that in the D&D universe, with both books and games, that the dichotomy of metallic and chromatic dragons being "good' and "evil" doesn't feel very fleshed out or explained wherever they appear. I'd really like to see some story arc with dragons or mages/researchers exploring this. Having a "good" dragon that actually is evil or a an "evil" dragon actually being smart and not being a murderous monster would make for an interesting story/lore avenue for this game to explore. Even better is if one such abnormal dragon could be a party member... after all pretty much all dragons can take human forms, and the closest we ever got to a dragon party member in a game is Deekin from Neverwinter Nights.

I've been looking for something like BG or the Divinity games for a while now.

I was turned off BG as it exists now just because, and this is a bit silly, the presentation/graphics are a bit dated. I like to look at something pretty while I play, at least to a degree. Then I found out about the Divinity games, and was really close to just buying one, that is until I read some more about gameplay.

I was saddened to find out that the expansive list of abilities in BG wasn't present in Divinity games, it's trimmed down instead. I'm sure there are excellent reasons for this, but it also meant that the particular gameplay styles I enjoy simply aren't present.

BG 3 might be the best of both worlds for me, and I am endlessly excited about that possibility.This isn't true for a huge number of people, and certainly not for the majority of people on this forum, but if BG 3 enables the archetypical gameplay styles I like then it'll be the first time for me to experience the world of D&D firsthand.

-- Along this vein, please avoid giving out overpowered/end game equipment and then taking it away to start the next game. D&D 5e has brought magical equipment back in to the realm of being rare and, while powerful nowhere near the ridiculousness of 3.x / 4e magic items. It's ok for the party to end the first game with mostly +1 / low level items and maybe just a couple of +2 / mid-level items... In fact 5e has several magical items that don't give enhancement at all, but other useful benefits.

- Please don't give us a D&D story with non-D&D mechanics. It has been SOOOOO LOOOONG since a good D&D came out. It would be nice to actually have it be a true D&D game. Use the 5e mechanics (with feats and racial bonuses/negatives, etc.) as fully as possible and stick as close to the rules system as possible. If you make changes to one part it will impact other parts and make the game end up looking nothing like D&D.

D&D 5e has in my opinion brought the system back closer to what it was in AD&D (1e / 2e) and I am very glad BG3 is being made when the ruleset has seemingly come 'full circle'. I was ok with 3.x, but always felt the emphasis was far too centered around 'builds' while 4e was something I would barely classify as relating to any previous iteration of D&D. 5e is the first time since 2e where I feel they got it right and improved upon the mixture of supporting roleplay and mechanics. I just really hope for a game that embraces this.

This! So agree with a lot oft his Chad... Check out my post from earlier:

Also... Changed from spells per day / rest to on CDs? Oh geezzz!! please no! The wizards / magic-users of D&D are not constantly at war.. not constantly churning through 100 enemies a day ala Diablo... I sooo hope they don't change mechanics that much...

I understand that they are trying to market a new younger generation, BUT don't throw out the baby with the bath water! --> The game needs to be as internally consistent as possible! The gameplay needs!!! to fit its narrative!